The Smile
by HeIsMySalvation
Summary: He said that without my smile, he might not be here, that our lives might be completely different. I guess I'll never know what he meant. Surely just a smile couldn't make that much difference...or could it?


**~The Smile~**

**At the sound of the front door latch, a broad grin crosses my face.**

**"Is that you, sweetheart?" I call, keeping my eyes on my pan of sizzling meat as I dump a handful of onions into the mix.**

**"You want me to go back out and say 'Honey, I'm home'?" is the tired, but good-natured reply. Keys jingle as they're tossed onto a worn, wooden shoe rack. Cloth rustles as a coat is removed and draped over a chair.**

**I laugh. "Yep, it's you."**

**A long sigh sounds as heavy footsteps approach my kitchen.**

**"Did you take your shoes off?"**

**"No."**

**"Are you going to?"**

**"No."**

**"Do you want to spend the weekend mopping my floors?"**

**A pause. The footsteps retreat. Another pause. One after the other, heavy shoes are dropped onto the floor of the front hall. Footsteps, this time padded by socks, approach once again.**

**"Permission to enter your domain now?"**

**"Granted."**

**"How was your day?" he asks, the amusement clear in his voice. He walks up behind me and a small kiss is planted on my cheek.**

**I shrug, stirring the chopped meat with a spatula. "Good, how about yours?"**

**A long sigh. Arms wrap around my waist and a chin rests on my shoulder. "Long."**

**"Aw, poor baby," I coo teasingly. "Well at least it's Friday."**

**"Yep." The arms give me a quick squeeze. "I have a whole weekend of relaxation ahead of me." His hip bumps suggestively against mine. "And maybe some fun in there too," he purrs in my ear.**

**Reaching my foot back to rub the outside of his calf, I laugh. "Don't get to excited lover boy. I'm working the night shifts again this weekend."**

**He grunts in annoyance. "You and your job. Sometimes I think you're in love with it instead of me."**

**"Well it's your fault that you convinced me not to drop out of nursing school. Besides, Mr. All-Important-Lawyer, who was it who had to cancel our anniversary date _twice_ because he was in court?"**

**I can hear the smirk in his voice. "Guilty."**

**"Darn right you are."**

**"What's for dinner?"**

**"Stir fry."**

**"Where's the beef?"**

**"I'm using chicken this time."**

**"But you always use beef."**

**"Chicken is healthier."**

**"And grosser."**

**I reach up to give him a small swat on the side of his head which is still resting on my shoulder. "If you don't like my cooking then you can make something yourself."**

**I hear him swallow thickly. "I love chicken."**

**"I thought so," I tell him with a triumphant smile.**

* * *

**I don't deserve my husband. He is the most selfless, caring man I've ever met and yet he adores me. He thinks I'm smart, fun, kind, and beautiful. He once told me that what he loved best about me was my smile.**

**"Why?" I asked him.**

**"Because without it, I might not be here," he said, his face completely serious.**

**I asked him what he meant, but he shook his head with a smirk and wouldn't tell me.**

**I still don't understand…**

* * *

"So what are you doing tonight?"

Sixteen-year-old Sakura Haruno slammed her locker with a loud bang before turning to face her friend Ino. "Soccer practice, homework, and work," she said with a long sigh, fingering her bubblegum-pink hair idly.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Girl, you are way too busy! When are you going to get out and enjoy life?"

With a groan, Sakura turned to head down the hallway. "I don't know."

Ino quickened her steps to catch up with her friend, blonde ponytail swinging energetically. "Why don't you take Friday night off?"

"I can't," Sakura moaned. "My manager wants me to close again."

"Aw, too bad. I think Shikamaru, Choji, and I are going to the movies."

Sakura snorted humorlessly. "Thanks for making me feel better."

"Your welcome!" Ino sang with a grin before turning serious once again. "Really though, you should take some time off when you can."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So how about this weekend?"

"Soccer game."

Pouting, Ino hugged her books to her chest as she stopped and glared at her friend sternly. "You realize that it _is_ possible to die from exhaustion."

With a roll of her eyes, Sakura turned to face her friend as she hooked her thumbs through the straps of her backpack. "I'll keep that in mind too."

Ino huffed dramatically. "I'm just trying to help."

"I know," Sakura replied with a chuckle, turning to head down the hallway once again. "It's just that – oof."

With a grunt, Sakura bounced back off someone and felt a hand slide under her elbow to steady her. Her eyes took in a white t-shirt collar and slowly traveled up to an extremely passive face where coal-black eyes stared blankly down at her from beneath wispy, dark bangs hanging gently next to a firmly set jaw line. The boy released her elbow as quickly as he had grabbed it, hand flying quickly into his pocket.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry." She grinned broadly, finding humor in her own awkwardness. "Just another clumsy day. I seem to have a lot of those."

Looking up into his face, she waited for him to return her smile, but the corners of his thin mouth stayed decidedly rigid. She felt her own expression waiver, but only for a moment. Just because he wasn't going to smile back, didn't mean that she had to dampen her own friendliness.

"Well, have a nice day!" she chirped, flashing him an even brighter smile and giving his arm one last pat, before she released him and stood aside to let him walk past her.

Barely sparing her a second glance, the boy slumped by, hands in his pockets, eyes focused firmly on the ground.

Sakura watched him go past, expression fading into a frown as she watched his dejected figure plod down the hallway. What was wrong with him?

An iron grip closed over her wrist. " 'Have a nice day' ?!" Ino hissed in her ear. "Really? You've been doing too much costumer service lately! Like I've _been saying_, you need to get out more."

Sakura cocked her head to the side, biting her lip as she studied the boy through the crowded screen of students. "Who was that?"

"No idea. He was hot though."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at her blonde friend. "I thought you were going out with Kiba."

Ino scrunched her nose. "Kinda. I just made him take me to Homecoming. He's really loud though. I could use someone more dark and sexy." Flashing her eyes excitedly, Ino licked her lips playfully.

With a snort, Sakura swatted her friend on the shoulder.

"No, really!" the blonde insisted defensively. "I'm on the lookout for the quiet, moody, handsome type!"

Sakura pursed her lips, glancing down the hallway again where the boy had disappeared. "I don't know. He didn't look quiet as much as he just looked…sad."

* * *

_Physics starts at 10:00. One foot goes in front of the other. Two more lefts and then a right. After Physics comes History. One foot goes in front of the other. The tiles on the floor all look the same. Now one more left and then a right._

Sasuke Uchiha forced mundane thoughts to filter through his head as he ambled down the hallway. First one foot went in front, then the other. He would see the toe of one black converse shoe, then it would disappear, then the other shoe would appear, and disappear, and so on the pattern went.

These thoughts that he shoved into his head served two purposes – one, they were necessary to get through everyday life, two, they kept all other thoughts at bay. Sadder thoughts, darker thoughts, thoughts that would tear him to pieces if he dwelt on them too much. He was swimming in them. They were an endless sea he couldn't escape from but he _could_ hold them back, if only just for a little while each day.

_One foot goes in front of the other. Your parents are dead. Your brother murdered them and then killed himself. Now you're alone._

* * *

"I hate English," Ino groaned, dropping her books loudly on her desk before slumping down into the seat in front of Sakura. "Who cares what these dudes wrote! They're all dead now!"

"We need to embrace the beauty of timeless literature," the pink-haired girl drawled sarcastically.

Propping her cheek up on her hand, Ino fake gagged to show her disgust. "Why can't we read something I would actually enjoy?"

Sakura arched an eyebrow at her. "You don't read."

"Well, I might if this stupid crap," Ino snatched up her copy of Shakespeare's Hamlet and waved it in Sakura's face, "didn't turn me off so much!" The book fell back on the desk with a loud smack causing the teacher to glance up from her desk with narrowed eyes.

Sakura snorted and glanced around the room. Nothing unusual. Kids were still slowly trickling into the classroom even though the bell had rung almost five minutes ago. Resting her chin on top of her fist, she watched them dully.

"So did you do the math homework from last night?"

Sakura replied without turning to face Ino. "Kinda. I didn't really understand most of it."

A long sigh. "Me neither. I'm too stupid to be in calculus."

"You're not too stupid," Sakura said with a smirk, "You're just too lazy."

"I _am_ not! I just – "

"Hey," Sakura interrupted her friend as a new face entered the classroom. She recognized his spiky black hair, long bangs, and pale face. He was still wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans and his eyes were just as dead as they had been that morning, expression just as blank.

Turning in her seat, Sakura leaned in to whisper to Ino. "Isn't that the dude I ran into this morning?"

Peering over her friends head, Ino's blue eyes searched the room before she nodded. "Yeah, I think that's him. What's he doing here?"

Sakura shrugged. "He could've gotten a schedule change." Glancing over her shoulder, she followed the boy with her eyes as he slumped into a seat at the back of the room, dropped his books on the floor, and rested his chin on top of his folded arms. "He still looks really depressed."

"Maybe he's having a bad day," Ino suggested.

The pink-haired girl bit her lip. "Maybe."

"Alright class!"

Sakura whirled around in her seat as the teacher, who was now standing in front of the whiteboard, called for their attention.

"Today we're going to start a new unit studying Homer."

"Like Homer Simpson?"

Sakura laughed along with the rest of the class as the teacher glared down Kiba Inuzuka. "No. Homer is the greatest epic poet in history."

Kiba stared at the teacher for a long moment. "So we don't get to watch The Simpsons?"

The teacher pursed her lips in frustration as the class burst into another round of laughter. "Now," she said, ignoring Kiba's question as the noise started to die down. "I want you to get with a partner and discuss what you know about Homer."

Spinning slowly around in her seat towards Sakura, Ino let out a long sigh. "Well this is going to be a short conversation."

"Wait." Glancing back towards the new boy, Sakura saw him still sitting with his head down, eyes staring blankly in front of him, making absolutely no attempt to find a partner. "Would you mind finding another partner just for today?" she asked, turning back towards her friend with a guilty look. "I don't think he has any friends in this class."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Fine. Go off and be little miss goody-two-shoes and just leave me here alone."

Sakura chuckled at her friend's dramatics as she slowly rose from her seat. "Thanks, Ino."

"Yeah whatever."

Shaking her head, Sakura wove through the rows of desks and groups of chatting kids (who seemed to be discussing everything _except_ Homer) and slowly approached the boy. Taking a deep breath, she stretched her mouth into a very genuine smile. "You wanna be partners?"

The boy's eyes shifted up towards her. He studied her for a moment before his shoulders jerked in what she assumed was a shrug.

Taking that as a yes, Sakura plopped herself down in the seat directly in front of him. "My name's Sakura."

"Sasuke," he mumbled.

"Did you just transfer into this class?"

"Yeah."

She cocked her head to one side curiously. "I thought you could only do that at the beginning of the semester."

Shrug.

How was she supposed to respond to that? "Cool." She paused, waiting for a response, but none came. "So, you wanna talk about Homer?"

He shrugged again. Sakura felt like sighing, but simply scrunched her face into a look of disgust. "Let's talk about something more interesting then. I'm not really a fan of Homer."

No response. This was harder than she thought.

"So, do you play any sports?" she asked, brightly.

"No."

"Well, I do. I play soccer and basketball. I could do cross-country in the fall, but if I'm gonna run I'd rather chase after a ball, you know what I mean?"

No reply.

Silence.

Finally, Sakura simply waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello?"

His eyebrows snapped into a glare as he looked up at her.

She grinned broadly. "So your face _can_ make an expression!"

He continued to glare.

Now it was her turn to shrug. "Well, you could've been one of those people who's had way too much plastic surgery and can't really move their face anymore."

"I don't think they do plastic surgery on minors," he grumbled, stringing together the longest series of words she'd ever heard him say.

"Ha! You _are_ a minor!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "I was debating between seriously anti-social teenager and grumpy old man. Although," her brow knitted as she scrutinized him, "you don't look like an old man." Her face sprung back into a smile. "I guess that's where the plastic surgery theory comes into play."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "You don't make much sense, do you?"

"Hey, don't judge," she turned her nose up at him with a haughty, but good natured glare.

As she peered down at him, she thought she saw a hint of a smirk turning up the edge of his mouth.

"Alright, students, back to your seats."

Sakura let out a long sigh as she stood to obey the teacher. "Well, have fun."

As she turned her back on him to make her way back to her seat, Sakura could have sworn that she saw his smirk grow just a little bit wider.

* * *

_ One foot goes in front of the other. English class should've started five minutes ago. I'm five minutes late. There are some other kids from my class. I won't be the only one._

_ One foot goes in front of the other. I wonder if that pink-haired girl will be there._

_ After this class I get to go…no, I don't get to go home. I don't have a home anymore._

_ One foot goes in front of the other. She was a bit weird, but nice. She had a really pretty smile._

_ One foot in front of the other. I hope she's there._

* * *

"You mean you don't appreciate the appeal of classic literature?" Sakura teased as she waved her copy of _The Iliad _in Sasuke's face.

He grunted. "It's just about half-naked dudes running around and killing each other because of some dumb girl."

That actually wasn't a bad synopsis. Sakura forced her face to remain straight as she sighed dramatically. "Not just a girl, the most beautiful woman in the world!" She pretended to primp her hair and batted her eyelashes at him. "You wouldn't fight a war for that?"

There was that smirk again. "Not if she had a face like yours."

"Hey!" Snatching her book off the desk, Sakura brought it down on top of his head.

"Ouch!"

She stuck out her tongue. "That's what you get for insulting a lady!"

Sasuke reached up to run a hand through his bangs. "If you're a lady, I'm from Mars."

"Well I have wondered about that hair of yours," Sakura said, peering over the top of his head. "Could you be hiding antenna under that spiky hair-do."

With a glare, Sasuke flipped the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head.

Sakura laughed. "No use trying to hide it now."

Crossing his arms on the desk, Sasuke slumped to rest his chin on top of them.

Sakura leaned down so that her face was level with his at him. "It's okay. I don't mind being friends with an alien."

His eyebrows raised slightly. "Friends?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. _Acquaintances_ if that suits you better." She should've figured that he was the kind who didn't want to be associated with people like her. Oh well.

He shrugged. "Friends is fine."

"Oh." Her mind went blank out of surprise for a moment before her face slid into its usual grin. "Well it's fine with me too."

* * *

The sound of the bell splits through the loud voices of students. Sasuke looked up to stare at the whiteboard through his bangs, letting the waves of students pass him by.

_She wasn't here today._

Climbing slowly out of the desk , he dragged his books off of it and followed the sea of kids as it spilled out into the hallway. His vision was filled with white tiles, his own toes framing one end of his sight, while the other edges were intruded upon by the shoes of other students.

_School is over. Today is Thursday. There is school again tomorrow. _

The hallways roared with students elated to be done with class, shoulders bumped against his, elbows swung into his sides.

A new pair of feet ran into the side of his vision. A blow to his shoulder slammed him up against the wall. Papers drifted in the air as books clattered to the floor.

"Sorry, man!" someone yelled.

* * *

"Ugh, I've gotta get out of here," Sakura groaned, squinting at the clock on the other side of the hallway.

"So you don't show up to class because you're studying for mid-terms, but you're going to soccer practice?" Ino leaned against the lockers next to her friend's. "Is that even allowed?"

Sakura shrugged as she stuck her head in her locker. Where was her chemistry book? That was the only thing she had come in to get anyway. Stack of papers, calculator, old lunch sack…

"Oh I give up!" Yanking her head out, Sakura slammed the locker shut and glanced at the clock again. "I'll just have to go without it."

"Oh the tragedy!" Ino groaned dramatically.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, well, anyway, I've got to go."

"Fine, fine. Go be a soccer star or whatever and just leave me here standing by myself," Ino said, waving a dismissive hand at her.

Sakura chuckled. "See ya later."

Half-jogging down the hallway, she went over her to-do list in her head. Soccer, studying, work, more homework. Could the day get any busier?

"Sorry man!"

The yell caught her attention. Back over her shoulder, she saw papers and books scattering. Someone bent to pick them up and the hood slid back off of his head.

Sasuke.

She recognized the lean figure and his spiky black hair. She smiled and started to turn. She should ask him to come to her game tonight. Maybe he would want to hang out with them this weekend.

The glare on the face of the clock caught her eye. Shoot! She was already late. Coach wanted to meet with her and she was supposed to have been there 10 minutes ago!

Turning away, she started down the hallway again. She'd catch up with Sasuke tomorrow.

* * *

A sharp sting of wind slapped against Sasuke's cheek. Winter wasn't over. It seemed like it should be. Maybe this winter would never end. It had already been the longest of his life.

Shoving stiff hands in his pockets, he hunched his shoulders as the air zinged right through the thin cloth of his sweatshirt.

_ One foot in front of the other. Four blocks and then a right. No…wait. That's wrong. Three blocks and a left now. _

Four blocks and a right. That would've taken him up to a small, warmly lit house in the cul-de-sac. He would've walked through the green door and his mother would've yelled for him to take off his shoes before he even stepped inside. He would've grumbled and dropped his backpack on the floor before kicking his shoes off on to the rug.

_Three blocks and a left now._

He would've wandered into the kitchen with a scowl on his face and his mother would've laughed at him and opened the fridge to see what she had "to feed her growing boy."

_Three blocks and a left now._

His brother would've sauntered in an hour later and they would've done homework and traded insults until their father came home.

_Three blocks and a left now_.

His father would've asked them about their days. His mouth would've creased into a stern frown when they said something he didn't like and slid into a proud smirk when they said something he did.

_Three blocks and a left now._

They would've gathered around the table. His father would've commented on his mother's cooking and she would've swatted him on the back of the head.

Life would've been good, in fact, it would've great. But the best thing would've been…

_No. Don't remember the best thing. It's over. It doesn't matter anymore. All you have is the present now. Three blocks and a left. Three blocks and a left. Three blocks and a left._

_The best thing was…they all would've been smiling. They were always smiling._

No one smiled at him anymore. He left an empty apartment in the morning, went to school full of happy, oblivious people who paid him no mind, and then went back to an apartment with a cold, drunken, glaring uncle.

The girl in his English class smiled at him. She even called him her friend.

_But not today. _

Today, even she hadn't noticed him. She'd walked right on past. He'd seen her back as she walked away, peppy, pink hair bouncing with each stride.

He glanced up at the grumbling sky. Not even it would smile at him today.

_Three blocks and a left…Two blocks and a left…One block and a left. Now over the bridge…the bridge…_

His downcast gaze shifted over to the cold grey edge where freezing water charged down the river, spitting up frigid bursts every time it hit a frozen edge of ice.

An icy gust slammed against his back, propelling him towards the railing. He bumped against the cold metal and stared down over it. The river was glaring at him as well, its dark, bubbling froth growling just as his uncle did when he'd had a few too many.

_It's still green_.

Despite its gloomy surface, he could still see the deep, dark woody color far beneath the small, streaking waves.

_It's still green. Just like my door._

He wanted to go through that door.

Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he placed them on the railing, his skin numbing against the sharp iciness of the metal. Cold rust crumbled beneath his fingertips as he pulled himself up.

First one leg over and then the other. He could feel the cold through his jeans as the back of his legs pressed on top of the railing.

The river wasn't all frozen, but there was still a thin layer of scattered ice across the top. It was full…very full…and very fast.

_Fast enough to take me home._

* * *

Shoot! She was late again. Sakura started to jog, her cheap, black heels clicking obnoxiously on the sidewalk.

Muttering to herself, she listed off all the things she would like to say to her crabby boss if she ever got the chance…which of course she wouldn't. College dropouts couldn't be choosers. If only she'd stuck with her nursing degree, but it seemed too hard at the time. Now she sat behind a desk 10 hours a day listening to whining customers and a demanding middle-aged man with a stomach ulcer.

Slowing to a walk as the drab, grey building came into sight, she ran her fingers through her tangled pink hair. She was sick of these early mornings. She was sick of this job. She was sick of her cold, lonely apartment. She was sick of life!

Still grumbling to herself, she straightened her blouse as she headed towards the glass door, which opened just as she was reaching for the handle.

"Good morning!" A voice greeted cheerfully, a broad smile flashing across a friendly but homely face. Glare glimmered off spectacles over a large nose and loose, dirty bangs hung limply over a long forehead.

The cheerfulness grated on her nerves. What was good about this morning? She didn't have time for this.

Grunting something back, she pushed past him and through the door. She was going to be late.

* * *

**He said that without my smile, he might not be here, that our lives might be completely different. I guess I'll never know what he meant. Surely just a smile couldn't make that much difference.**

* * *

**Laying down my spatula, I turn around in my husband's arms and reach up to lace my fingers around the back of his neck. Meeting his coal-black eyes with a broad grin, I stand on tiptoe to plant a firm kiss on his jaw.**

**An amused smirk dances over his face. "I love you, Sakura."**

**I smile. "I love you too, Sasuke."**

* * *

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Leo Buscaglia~

_A/N I'm sorry guys, I know this is another kind of depressing story, but it shows both the happy and the sad "what ifs." Just remember that no matter how busy you are, you always have time to smile at someone, maybe ask them how they're doing, just make their day a little brighter._

_It could make a big difference._

_Anyway, sorry for another downer. I promise, the one-shot that I promised around Christmas (and am still working on) is much happier. I'm so sorry it's taking me so long to get the next chapter of _Always – Team 7 _out to you guys, but it's almost finished! Thank you so much for being patient with me while I've been so busy!_

_As always, please review review REVIEW! And check out my other stories. Love ya'll and God bless! _


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